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WONKA

When this film was first rumoured years ago I can't say I expected much and even as the film crept closer to its release date I had some excitement but still low expectations. The trailers look fun enough but I wasn't really convinced with Timothe Chalamet's performance and despite having some faith due to the director being known for both Paddington films I went in with lots of scepticism. The modern landscape of Hollywood has made me very pessimistic towards prequels and especially ones that feel unnecessary and like quick cash grabs merely using a famous brand.

HOWEVER... Despite all my trepidation I left the cinema kind of loving this film. Before delving deeper I want to straight away express that this is one of the most magical and captivating films I have seen in years. I was so engaged and for someone usually very critical I found myself just having too much wholesome fun to find issues.

One aspects of this film I adore is the worldbuilding, this is a world filled with magic and absurdity and everything is accepted as normality, allowing certain weird moments or contrivances to feel almost natural. The chocolate cartel, the floating chocolate, Oompa Loompas this is a world of pure whimsy and absurdity.

To get my few negatives out of the way, the opening act was definitely the weakest in my opinion, I thought the opening 15 minutes or so was quite rushed and predicable but with some still great character moments. I also believe there could've been a few less characters as some of them fade into the background like the actor who is more annoying then anything.

I genuinely has no idea this film was going to be a full on musical, it was a surprise to be sure but a welcome one. The music is consistently great and fun throughout, songs like scrub scrub feeling like a classic Annie song. There are multiple songs taken from the original but they are all altered and feel unique, giving them their own identity. Overall this film never felt like it was relying on nostalgia or pandering to fan service, it stands alone very well. Even with multiple great songs like Scrub Scrub, pure Imagination the standout song for me was For A Moment. The scene with this song was when I think I fell in love with this film. Noodle and Wonka are milking a giraffe to get the milk for his chocolate when Noodle begins to sing about how this is the first time she's felt happy in so long whilst Wonka sings any word he can think of that rhymes with noodle, it is very cute and exemplifies Willy's kind hearted wholesome nature. Then as they run off with the milk Willy grab a bunch of balloons and they begin dancing and floating through the skies, bouncing from building to building as flamingos fly overhead, its pure magic. The choreography lends to the songs greatly, each dance scene feels dynamic and full of life, this is helped by the amazing lighting and colour grading throughout making everything feel colourful and lively.

The main worry I had with this film I need to address is Timothe Chalamet as the lead. Now after watching the film I have to admit I firmly believe Chalamet is the best Willy Wonka, better than not just Johnny Depp but also Gene Wilder. I know this is controversial but I completely believe this. Chalamet perfectly captures the magic and childish energy of Wonka, his love for chocolate making and his overall kind-hearted and selfless nature is honestly inspiring and so satisfying to watch, making him such an engaging protagonist and very easily loveable. I really appreciate the subtleties of Chalamet's performance as well, Wonka is young and mostly fun and loveable but there are moments of madness, seconds where he might stare for too long or make a strange comment and these glimpses of insanity are perfect. This version of Wonka feels like a natural younger version of say the Gene Wilder version, I could see this Wonka delving into his madness and obsession as he leaves his friends behind to focus purely on chocolate making and inventing. This Wonka also has a large focus on his actual chocolate making and inventing abilities, in certain moments it can feel like he is an almost super powered genius but I enjoy how he is so smart with invention yet is illiterate, it create a nice message about how everyone has their own skills. Actually this film has a great focus on how every character has strengths and weaknesses but we are always stronger working together and helping one another, its a great message for the younger children the film is targeted at.

I was shocked at the cast and the amount of great British comedians in it. There were 4 Peep show Alumni, Olivia Coleman, Alan Johnson, Simon and Dobby which was great to see (Peep show being my favourite comedy of all time) as well as there being multiple horrible histories starts and even more British comedians like Phil Wang and Matt Lucas. This great cast adds to how genuinely funny this film can be. Similar to Paddington this film has a great emotional core, Wonka's connection to his mother leads to multiple emotional moments as well as Noodle's mistreatment and desire for a family.

Wonka is a magical, inspirational, imaginative gem with a sweet hint of madness.

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SCENE RECREATION- THE LIGHTHOUSE

For our final project in Film Production workflow we were tasked with recreating a scene from a film that particularly inspires us. After lots of thought my group decided on The Lighthouse by Robert Eggers as the main goal of this task was to replicate the atmosphere and feel of the scene and The Lighthouse is a film so focused on its feel. We decided to choose a very small and intimate scene where it is all interior shots and just the two main actors. This helped greatly with location scouting and set design as we could more accurately replicate everything.

In early group meetings when we were brainstorming ideas for scenes I championed for the Lighthouse from early on as I thought it was an amazing film that is difficult and impressive but still manageable. I also find Robert Eggers very inspiring, I believe he is one of the best modern directors along with Ari Aster and Emerald Fennel with all three of his feature films The Witch, The Lighthouse and The Northman being great and refreshing.

When initially deciding on a scene we had three options, the ending, the drunk dance or the scene we chose. The ending would definitely have been too technically challenging for lots of reasons, especially the incredible sound design and the production design of the Lighthouse itself. Between the 'What? What? What?' and dance scene we thought the 'What?' scene captured the comedic yet sinister atmosphere of the film best and had some great shots that could challenge us and give us a chance for some real guerrilla filmmaking.

In this production my roles were Producer and Editor. This was a great combination as it meant I was involved with all three aspects of the production process, pre-production, production and post-production.

As the producer I completed all of the sheets as seen above. I created a kit, costume and prop list, a call sheet and production schedule as well as two different shot lists. I felt it was helpful to have one shot list that is just the images of the shots along with the dialogue spoken within them and another which focused on the more technical elements like the camera angle and movement. Splitting these lists into two helped keep them clear and not messy. I also edited the original clip to label each shot with its number, this was very helpful on set as it made sure there was no confusion which shot was which whilst filming. I made sure to transcribe the scene so I could easily send off the script to potential actors as well as a video of the original scene. When looking for actors I originally intended to have one of my friends from back home who specialised in acting help out but he dropped out quite last minute. I then put out a casting call on an actors and film group on Facebook to find an actor for Willam Defoe.

As part of producing I helped with the recce along with Harry Paul, we visited a community centre but then got no response whether we could film there. We thought of filming in someone's attic or a wooden shed to give that dingy wooden aesthetic however these areas would've been too enclosed and unpractical, even maybe dangerous, to have so many crew members and so much equipment inside. I emailed to multiple venues in Edinburgh including Out of the Blue and Deaf Action, even going to Deaf Actions main building and browsing their venues but none of them worked for our chosen scene and the amount of money for renting a room out for the whole day of filming was much past our budget. In the end Harry took over as recce and found our location, opting for a plain room and allowing us to build up the set rather then finding a room wholly accurate to the scene.

When it came to the actual filming day I acted mainly as a runner and general assistant to different roles. Before we started filming I went to the cafeteria and bought everyone waters as well as some snacks to keep people energised, I also helped build the set which was primarily constructed of carboard, building the boxes up and evening them out to act as beds etc. When filming I constantly had my laptop up and would assist the DOP at making sure the shots seemed accurate. Then I acted as support such as swapping batteries for the camera and sound and putting them on charge. In certain shots I am holding up a black flag to help direct the light. Overall I tried to fill in any role that needed filling in since my credited roles were either pre or post production. The on set production process was the most enjoyable part of the scene recreation, meeting and working with our actor for Willam Defoe was great and we worked together very well as a team. Our most difficult challenge as a group was the opening shot as it entails a slow zoom and turn to the left on a dolly or track. We didn't have access to that type of advanced equipment so had to improvise and figure out intelligent ways to move the camera without it being shaky and distracting. Since I was the producer I was also the most time orientated on set, wanting to make sure we stuck to the schedule to the best of our ability, making sure certain shots got the time they needed for setup and takes.

Post-production was definitely the most challenging role I took on in this production. Since our filming day was Tuesday 5th December I had limited days to edit so had to make the most out of my time. I started by going through each video clip to find the best take then searching for the correct audio clip to match this, I completed this process with all 17 shots then found the sound effects like the foghorn from online as I knew I wouldn't be able to folly it before starting to edit. I enjoyed the editing process as it is a very entertaining and strangely comedic scene. I placed the clips in order first then worked out the finer details of audio as many shots don't include the full line of dialogue the last words sinking into the next shot. After the initial timeline was completed I focused on sound and making sure every piece of dialogue was at a good level of volume and the background noises were at a low but audible level. Next I focused on the most important aspect of creating the feel and atmosphere of the film, the black and white colour grading. We filmed on set with a black and white LUT so I knew how the lights would react with each shot making my editing job much easier, I still did some colour grading on a lot of shots to get them as accurate to the original scene as possible. The final stage of editing was to convert the video into the correct aspect ratio of 1.19:1 which worked perfectly since on set the camera had a grid of what the aspect ratio would look like.

Watching the final product back now days later I am very proud of what we managed to achieve as we were mostly accurate with our recreation. Every shot is there and lasts nearly the same amount of time as the original, only a few clips are a second or so off. We captured the lighting well especially on Willam Defoe's recreated sections and both performers do an amazing job. The only real issues I think we had is the depth in certain shots, Willam Defoe definitely could've been closer to the window behind him and our other issue is setting, whilst we did a good job at building up fake beds and a fake window the room we are in isn't the best as in certain shots you can see the roof which isn't slanted and is a more modern pattern. Overall I am very proud of our recreation.

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Run-2 minute short film

This was my groups final task and short film for the module Film Narrative 1, we were tasked with choosing a 2 page script and adapting it. For this short film my group got in actors for the first time, we had a group of first year acting students volunteer to help us as well as an older actor who was casted by the director. Working with actors was a new experience and definitely added a certain level of professionalism to our shoot and encouraged us to be more serious. We felt the need to have all of our sound and camera equipment properly set up and formatted before any of the actors arrived, this creates a level of respect as it means the actors aren't waiting for us.

For this specific short film my main role was sound, specifically boom swinging. This was my first time boom swinging and I enjoyed it but I can definitely see how difficult and tiring the role can be. We were filming at night in around 0' degree weather and it even started to lightly snow at one point during the shoot. This cold weather was quite harsh for filming especially when so much of my role as a boom swinger was standing in one position and moving the boom. it was a very valuable and new experience filming in more difficult conditions with a new role.

I think overall I was quite successful as a boom swinger, the sound is great in the short film but that is also due to the sound editing like the moment when all the dialogue becomes echoey and reverberated, reflecting the character's struggling health. There is one shot where you can see a slight shadow role over the coach's face which is irritating however could be excused as a shadow from the floodlights.

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NAPOLEON

Ridley Scott's newest historical drama has hit the big screen to a very mixed critical reception. On the lead up to this film I was very excited, loving both the director and lead actor. I was expecting some strong Oscar contenders in this film until the early reviews came out and it was mostly along the lines of mediocre to good nothing amazing but I still went in with relatively high expectations. Personally I think this film is good... but not great.

I'm going to start with the positive aspects which for me mainly shine within two sequences, the battle on the ice and the invasion of Russia. The battle on the ice is a perfectly tense battle scene, it is slow and methodical and really gives a great sense of Napoleon's systematic nature and his pure tactical genius. The way the music builds up with an ominous ticking clock (as a side note the music throughout this whole film might be the best part, the use of classical and traditional French music is beautiful and so atmospheric). The strategic ways Napoleon's army give messages to each other and ready an ambush, forcing their attackers to retreat and then striking them with their most dangerous and intelligent move of destroying the hidden ice, completely outsmarting and Annihilating the combined forces of Russia and Austria. This sequence is visually gorgeous, tense and satisfying, proving how well Ridley Scott constructs and frames battle scenes, the most spectacular shot being one of a horse charging across the ice dodging cannon balls. The other best sequence is the Invasion of Russia, I adore the way the film becomes desaturated and gains acold colour palette to reflect the harsh winter that defeats his army. The scene of Moscow burning and Napoleon's realisation of complete defeat is riveting.

Disappointingly, I am not as positive about most of the film as these two sequences. I believe Joaquin Phoenix's performance is good but nothing amazing, it feels like he doesn't actually get much to do and his character never felt like he was changing too much both mentally and physically. One major problem I have links to this as despite the story spanning around 40 years Joaquin looks the same age throughout, the only change being a slightly receding hairline. I didn't need him to be recast when younger but some slight makeup or hair change like how Nolan made Cillian seem younger in Oppenheimer flashbacks would've been appreciated. Vanessa Kirby has a very strong performance but her character really let it down for me. Within two short scenes of Napoleon and her meeting where they had little chemistry or dialogue exchanged they are married, then instantly she cheats on him and they argue, it felt like their entire relationship was side-lined and rushed, focusing more on strange and kinky sex scenes between the two that just made me uncomfortable and laugh. I also wish we got to see her final moments instead of her dying off-screen.

Now to get onto my biggest problem with the film... the pacing. The first act of this film was a huge shock to me as it felt like it was trying to speed run through Napoleon's history as if it was a slideshow or a YouTube video explaining his history instead of a deep historical character study. The rapid pacing gave me no time to take in the location or really comprehend what year we were in, similarly character would have no introduction and just appear, being given nothing and most of them becoming forgettable or just disappearing. I definitely believe a longer maybe 3 and a half- 4 hour cut of this film would benefit it greatly as it felt simply like important scenes were cut out.

One smaller issue I have is the lack of accents or foreign languages, there is only one use of subtitles for two lines of German dialogue but no French spoken. Most of the actors even keep their American accents and it feels so jarring and unnatural. Something that tackles this issue well is the Vinland Saga manga where if a character is speaking French they write in French what they say then translate it to English underneath, giving an authentic experience whilst allowing the audience to understand them.

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INVINCIBLE

The first half of Invincible season 2 just wrapped up and I am raring to talk about it. I watched season 1 of Invincible week to week back when it first came out with my Dad and I still remember what an impression the first episode made, creating a well realised superhero world, having a great family dynamic of Nolan (Omni-man) Debby and mark within one episode then ending it with one of the most shocking and violent scenes in recent television history. Season 1 was an exciting and refreshing superhero project, there were some weaker episodes, most noticeably the mad scientist making cyborgs at the college Mark and his friends were viewing was very average and contrived BUT for the most part it was a great season of TV. The best part was easily the final episode and the conflict between Mark and his own father, their battle was relentlessly brutal, the scene of Omni-man holding Mark by the head as a train crashes into them at full speed, tearing through and murdering everyone inside was beyond shocking and traumatising. Besides the amazing action and impactful death and violence the emotion of the final fight was stellar having Mark still illustrate his love for his father despite everything, it was just brilliant.

Now season 2 has released its first 4 episodes and I'm ready to discuss them. (As a side note the second half of the season isn't releasing until February which is really irritating and I wish they released it all at once as this split over months really kills the hype and momentum of the show). I think so far season 2 is just as good if not even better then the first season honestly. There are lots of unchanged and improved elements with only some downsides. To start off the worldbuilding is still great. I love how this is a fully realised superhero world with locations like Atlantis being known and normalised, having an entire working civilisation there. Similarly, the multiple worlds across the galaxy all feel real and believable, I appreciate the way things aren't being discovered for the first time or created they feel like they have been around for centuries or millennia, realistic and soft worldbuilding.

When it comes to characters Mark and Debby have easily been the best this season. Mark's want to not be like his dad after everything but needs to become stronger and being pushed to kill, the arc being built for him is great so far and Steven Yuen is still great a portraying a wide range of emotions. The star of the show for me however is Debby, Sandra Oh has such an emotional and grounded performance its honestly beautiful. Debby's struggle to come to terms with Nolan's betrayal is so engaging and seeing her breakdown and crumble is perfectly disheartening. My favourite moment of this season so far is probably the parallel between Debby and Nolan, both wondering alone and lost. there are some weak characters like Rex is still annoying and some of the Guardians of the Globe in general need development as at this point the story only really focuses on their relationship problems which feels like such a waste, they also need more action scenes and a bigger stake in the plot as they feel quite tacked on and unnecessary this season.

One of my main worries with the show so far is the introduction of multiverse. Granted it has only just been introduced and it is all great so far but I am anxious where it will go. Multiverse allowed for an incredible opening to the season having Mark and Omni-man tearing through a destroyed Earth and hunting down the characters from season 1, murdering everyone, it was striking and confusing, the audience only realising it was an alternate reality at the end of the episode. HOWEVER, besides the spider-verse films and Everything Everywhere all at once thriving off the concept of multiverse many superhero franchises like the MCU and DCEU have completely failed at it, leading to the concept destroying all logic and demolishing the stakes, making everything too big and hard to comprehend or care about and making it that if any character dies they can come back. Basically so far the short multiverse teasers have been intriguing but I am weary.

The final elements I want to talk about are the more formal filmmaking aspects. I think overall the show has pretty great cinematography and framing especially for action and flight scenes, the music has been a standout this season having a very sombre and depressing atmosphere perfectly reflected by the music choice. I also enjoy that the show allows for silence and doesn't always use music when its unnecessary. The animation is unchanged from season 1 meaning it is decent but has some disappointing scene where some fights turn into a slideshow, making them feel like they have less motion then the comic book it is based on.

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Scene recreation plan- FINAL DECISION

Recently my group had a meeting to decide on what film scene to recreate, we went in with 3 potential ideas we all thought were strong and achievable. Each of the three options had pros and cons:

BEFORE SUNRISE

This scene was definitely in a close second in our options and was nearly the option we went for. This is a very nice and wholesome scene which would mean recreating its effect would be simple enough but also engaging for the audience as even though it is only a two minute extract viewers can get emotionally attached to the quirky characters. This would be perfect for casting actors as the characters are close enough to our age we could use acting students at Napier university. The costumes are very simple, Ethan Hawke just wearing a grey T-shirt exemplifying that. The shots are mostly just shot reverse-shot of the two characters speaking which is good to replicate authentically. The main issues we ran into would be the location, we would not only need to find a restaurant that would allow us to film but also one with similar if not the same soft sequined chairs. We would also need extras int he background which requires more actors. We thought of maybe green screening the background, adding the extras in post as when analysing the scene more it feels like the extras are fake and not actually there, there's a weird uncanniness and blurriness to them.

SE7EN

This was more of a wild card scene as we hadn't put much pre-planning into this idea before pitching it to our lecturer. The scene seems simple enough with three actors chatting around a dinner table however there are some VERY complicated aspects. Shockingly the shaking room itself isn't the most difficult part. The vibrating effect could be created partially in post, especially on the close up shots. In wide shots we could definitely have multiple crew members under the tables or behind the doors simply shaking the props in a very guerrilla filmmaking style. It would b difficult but would look very impressive if achieved successfully. Costumes are all simple but unique and different, Morgan Freeman's character standing out in formal attire. However, the difficult part of this scene is the production design, to start with we would need to find a house with a similar layout like the glass doors, then we would need to set the table with lots of food and drinks, costing the crew quite a lot and requiring tedious detail of where everything is on the table. Finally the background details of the desk and lamps in the next room would probably have to be green-screened.

THE LIGHTHOUSE

This is the scene we ended up deciding on as a group for a few reasons. To start off with we feel it has the clearest atmosphere and feel to replicate. The most important priority of the task is replicating the atmosphere and the tense but manic energy of the Lighthouse will not only be fun to film but hopefully clear to the audience. The location is mostly obscured with blacked-out windows and mostly tight mid to close-up shots. We will need to make the window out of black cardboard and buy a plant pot and lamp without a shade for set dressing. We will attempt to use pool noodles painted black for the bed frame and throw a cover over a cardboard box which will hopefully create the illusion of a bed. The main difficulty with this scene is getting an actor of the age and gravitas of Willam Defoe which may be a struggle. We also need to find a good location with wooden flooring and walls, we have some options but need to narrow down to the best and most accurate.

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What is methodology

‘A college education, surely, should throw every student into a regular torrent of speculation, and it should school him to recognize the different standards of validation proper to different kind of truth claims. You cannot distinguish a man who in this respect is educated from other men by whether or not he believes in God, or in UFO’s [sic]. But you can tell and educated man by the way he takes hold of the question of whether God exists, or whether UFO’s [sic] are from Mars. Do you know your own reasons for your beliefs, or do you absorb your beliefs from whatever happens to be in your environment, like plankton taking in nourishment?’ (281)

Journal:

I understand Methodology to be arguably the most important and integral part of any essay. When first analysing an essay the thesis and research question seem like the most vital pieces of an essay. The topic sentence and research question are the foundation of any piece of work and the thesis/ conclusion are the answer and resolution of an essay but both are nullified and made worthless without a strong methodology. Methodology is the most important way to distinguish someone’s level of knowledge on a subject like in the example someone simply saying if they do or don’t believe in God doesn’t warrant much discussion but someone who explains why they believe God is or isn’t real and takes into effect their surrounding environment and upbringing is obviously intelligent and can create a well-reasoned argument/ essay.

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Shorthand film terms

In one of our required reading texts "Writing about movies" its final pages give a rundown of dozens of shorthand film terms that are very useful and that I need to learn and remember.

SHORTHAND NOTATIONS FOR SCREENINGS:

Shot Proxemics/ Framing:

XLS- Extreme long shot                                                               LS- Long shot

MLS- Medium long shot                                                              MS- Medium shot

MCU- Medium-close-up                                                               CU- Close-up

XCU- Extreme close-up                                                                OFF- Offscreen (Space)

ON- Onscreen                                                                                RF- Rack Focus

Lighting:

LK- Low-key lighting                                                                     HK- High-key lighting

BCK- Backlighting

Point of View:

Opov- Omniscient POV                                                                Cpov- Specific character’s POV

GPOV- Group POV

Camera Angles:

ELS- Eye-level shot                                                                        HAS- High-angle shot

LAS- Low-angle shot                                                                     DAS- Dutch-angle shot

AVS- Ariel-view shot 

Camera Movements:

PAN- Pan shot                                                                                TILT- Tilt shot

DOLI- Dolly in                                                     ��                           DOLO- Dolly out

ZM- Zoom                                                                                        CRA- Crane Shot

Speed and Length of Shot:

SLO- Slow motion                                                                          FST- Fast motion

LT- Long take

Editing Conventions:

EST- Establishing shot                                                                  FB- Flashback

ELL- Ellipsis                                                                                      SRS- Shot/reverse shot

MOA- Match-on-action cut                                                        GM- Graphic match cut

ELM- Eye-line match cut                                                              PAR- Parallel editing

POVE- Point-of-view editing                                                        JC- Jump cut

FI- Fade in                                                                                       FO- Fade out

LD- Lap dissolve                                                                             FF- Freeze-frame

Sound:

ONS- Onscreen sound                                                                  OFS- Offscreen sound

DS- Diegetic sound                                                                       NDS-Non-diegetic sound

3VO- Third-person voice-over narration                                 INSO- Internal sound

1VO- First person voice-over narration

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Traditional vs contemporary masculinity in film

The final project for my university module Communication and Practise is a 1000 word essay on how cultural analysis aids film analysis. To start off I needed to choose a area of cultural theory to study and I wanted to zoom in on gender and specifically masculinity. For this project we must select one film and look at multiple scenes through a cultural lens. Here are my options for the film scenes to analyse:

FULL METAL JACKET

This is the film I mainly want to analyse when looking at traditional masculinity through its film analysis. Firstly, this film represents the toxic and overwhelming masculinity of the military during the Vietnam war. The intense training regimes where all the men are berated and abused but expected to show no sign of weakness or emotion but instead stay strong and unphased. Similarly, the soldiers obsession with prostitutes and war represent stereotypical conventions of masculine dreams. The framing and cinematography greatly helps illustrate male dominance and traditional masculine beliefs. The low-angle used portraying the the men looming over the now helpless untrained Vietnamese volunteer female soldier. Then the wide shot used has hero so small and almost unrecognisable, surrounded by the male soldiers, subtly presenting orthodox male views of male dominance.

LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

Despite the novel this film is based on being written over a hundred years ago the presentation of masculinity is very positive and honestly inspirational. When discussing contemporary masculinity the main elements of improvement compared to orthodox masculinity mentioned are, inclusivity, emotional intimacy, resistance and physicality. Inclusivity relates to fathers taking on traditionally feminine roles such as cooking or cleaning and childcare. Emotional intimacy illustrates how men openly hug and share their emotions with each other, fathers also now priorities family. Physicality demonstrates the increased level of intentional touching and how men regularly hug. Resistance finally is the rejection of orthodox masculinity and support of other men. Lord of The Rings portrays multiple of these aspects within this single scene. Frodo is terrified and running away after being betrayed by Boromir as Aragorn pursues him wanting to know where the ring is. Aragorn gets down on one knee and gently closes Frodo's hands, keeping both his hands on Frodo's and stating "I would've gone with you to the end, into the very fires of Mordor,". This moment perfectly encapsulates how Aragorn represents an aspirational contemporary man, he gets down on one knee to Frodo's level, presenting how he isn't bothered about status of power over his friend, he is emotionally intimate with him and speaks at whilst looking into his eyes and holding his hand. This physical and emotional intimacy are key elements in a contemporary man as Aragorn resists stereotypes of orthodox masculinity.

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE

This films male representation isn't as obvious as the first two. Whilst Full Metal jacket conveys the toxicity of traditional masculinity and Fellowship of the Ring presents contemporary masculinity and its compassion and emotional intimacy, Howl's moving castle highlights conventional Masculine expectations. In traditional societal roles men are expected to be strong, bold and aggressive, they are seen as working breadwinners. Howl greatly symbolises this ideology through his will to fight and protect those around him, being the only one that battles. He will return from the warzones badly damaged, bruised and depressed. This reflects how the conventional believes of men needing to be strong and work only leads to difficulty and pain, subverting stereotypical masculine expectations and portraying how men need help and support. In my opinion Howl is a depressingly realistic interpretation of the internalized expectations of men and masculinity which has lead to so many young men becoming dysfunctional, antisocial and self-destructive, directly correlating to the fact that violence and injury, caused by homicide and especially suicide is now the leading cause of young men's death in the UK.

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THANKSGIVING

I did not expect to watch this film, I went to the cinema planning to watch The Marvels and to make a blog post after it discussing how I have lost my passion for the MCU and discussing the factors as to why The Marvels is failing financially. But then we ended up watching this instead and wow am I grateful. Thanksgiving is a pleasant surprise and a pretty good little horror film.

To start off with the best part of this film is easily the gore, this is one of the goriest films I have ever watched but thankfully it never felt unnecessary or overly cruel. The gore in this film is very violent but overexaggerated and comically unique enough to create a shocking whilst sometimes weirdly comedic value. The best kill to exemplify this is the killers first kill of the film, he grabs a woman, pushes her head into cold water then slams her face against a freezer, sticking her to it. This poor woman then pries herself off of the freezer, her finger and cheek skin tearing off brutally. She then runs outside and tries to jump in a bin as the killer pursues her in a car, then the bin lid slams shut CUTTING HER IN HALF. The kills are so over the top and shocking it creates great anticipation and tension as the audience waits to see how absurd and violent the next kill can get.

When it comes to characters this film is pretty standard, it mainly follows the jock friend group which is a fun choice, horrors usually side-lining this archetype just to die. The main group have a fun dynamic and despite some being forgettable its still upsetting to see them hunted down for basically no reason. Similar to Talk To Me this film utilises social media, allowing the killer to taunt the main characters online, some of this is quite contrived like the killer getting so many views and likes seems weird and like there was space for social commentary. Besides the characters most formal filmmaking elements re quite standard. The music is forgettable, the cinematography is standard with no stand out shots but the mise-en-scene is very good, lots of the production design especially of the killers lair is pretty great.

My only real problem with this film is the ending, the twist of the sheriff being the killer seemed decent at first but then his motivation was revealed and it was not at all foreshadowed and random, cheapening the ending. Having the killers body not found is a horror trope, setting up his return for a sequel which I would definitely watch. Overall Eli Roth delivers a surprisingly fun gorefest.

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Following

Today I went to an optional film screening for my course where we were shown Christopher Nolan's debut film Following (1998). Before today the only Nolan films I hadn't seen were this and Insomnia meaning I am only one off watching his entire filmography.

Overall I thought this film was pretty good and a has a lot of similarities to even his more modern films, his distinct use of fractured narratives is very clear here however it is very obvious that this was his debut film and made off of his own budget.

To get the negatives out of the way first some of the technical aspects and formal film elements were very underwhelming. In the scenes where the protagonist is following people they utilise shakey camera but it is way too overexaggerated and feels almost sickening to look at, being unrealistic to the amount of movement someone's point of view would have. There are multiple sound issues throughout where certain dialogue doesn't sync up and the ADR feels blatantly obvious, granted this could've been the projector we were watching on but the sound still felt off because of this. One moment that felt very awkward was the fight between Cobb and the protagonist, both actors kind of just awkwardly and very slowly wrestle each other, there is no intensity or violence to it and every blow feels soft. I can't really comprehend the reason behind the film being in black and white despite to hide more low budget elements like the lighting, it just feels like an unnecessary stylistics feature. One final issue I have with the film is the lack of focus on the original and core concept of the film, following. The opening dialogue introduces such an interesting idea of a man just obsessed with following and learning about peoples lives, an unsexual voyeurism, its very intriguing as a concept but gets dropped for a more conventional crime narrative.

Despite criticising this film I still think it's pretty good. The twists are the best aspect of the story, finding out everything had been orchestrated perfectly from the very beginning by Cobb and seeing his true intelligence, knowing how to manipulate and protagonist and working out his flat was the place they went for burgling is all great. The dynamic between the lead and Cobb is strong and engaging throughout. The fractured narrative does wonders for the audiences engagement in a story that would be so simple in order. The narrative allows for multiple great reveals and call-backs like the protagonist using a fake credit card and stealing the woman's underwear all being planned. It's definitely an intelligently written film and requires the audiences full attention and concentration which I greatly appreciate. Overall a strong debut.

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

I can't lie and say I was a massive Hunger games fan when I was younger, I watched the first two films and enjoyed them but never watched the Mockingjay films. It is strange to look back that only a decade ago this genre of dystopian teen drama was so prevalent in the film industry and very successful financially, there was Hunger Games, The Maze runner trilogy and The Divergent trilogy. Despite this genre dying out the new Hunger Games prequel has just been released to a very mixed reception. I thought the trailers looked promising but were definitely overly long and gave away too much. I am very mixed on this film but I would say I enjoyed it, I will mainly be criticising its mistakes in this review but don't think its a bad film.

My biggest issue is definitely the characters. I think the two leads of Snow and Lucy Gray have some good chemistry and an engaging dynamic. The way they grow closer and genuinely get invested in saving the other, eventually falling in love was great. However, the end of their stories ruin their relationship for me. Lucy Gray is on board with Snow's actions until the very end where she suddenly starts acting strange and implying she will report him and get him hung for murdering people he needed to kill for both their survival. She then just runs away never to be seen again, not showing the audience anything that happened to her, creating a completely inconclusive and wholly unsatisfying non ending for her character. Snow's arc I was enjoying at first, the scene of him killing a tribute was excellent and a good hint to his future villainy but then the film rushes to him becoming ruthless and seemingly insane within a couple scenes, hunting Lucy Gray down trying to kill her and then joining forces with the antagonists and murdering Peter Dinklage's character, it all felt quite forced and underdeveloped. Sadly these two are still the bets character, most of the side characters are underwhelming. To start off Peter Dinklage has a great final scene revealing the truth of his cruelty but I still don't think it explains why his character seemed so inexplicably evil and it confuses his motivation as if he wanted the hunger games to end why did he promote changing and improving it? The most out of place and strange character for me was Viola Davis, her character acted as a mad scientist caricature who was comically evil at times and felt very tonally inconsistent with the more gritty realistic world the film wanted.

The rest of the side characters are all lackluster, the tributes besides Lucy Gray are given nothing, some are just blatantly evil, others are given no personality and basically no lines at all, ones only characters trait is literally just that she has a cough, very weak writing. Similarly, Snow's classmates and friends are all just rich and pompous, ones entire character being she takes credit for Snow's work. The one with the most character is his *closest* friend who I felt never seemed like a good friend, they didn't have enough time together so Snow's breakdown and final turn being centred around him felt weak. I know not every character can have lots but something more, even one little scene of the tributes bonding or telling their stories could've worked.

Overall I actually enjoyed the hunger games part of the story despite my complaints, it was tense and there was some good action and smart trickery by Snow. My main issues come from the last 1/3rd of the film which focused on Snow in district 12 and his turn, it killed the pacing and just all felt rushed and underdeveloped, wanting to turn into a full blown political war drama but doing it unsuccessfully.

The best part of this film is easily the set and costume design. The red uniforms of the capital children is so visually striking and the contrast of the poorer rags of district people to the lavish capital costumes is simple but effective. All the production design feels grand and has a great sense of scale. The steam punk aesthetic in the district also has a clear visually style.

I have some final random negative aspects to discuss. Some dialogue moments felt awkward and like a first draft such as Snow saying paste tasted *pasty* and Snow's final line *Snow always lands on top* being a call back sure but feeling cringe and unrealistic for someone to actually say. I also don't like the reference and nods to the original quadrilogy. Having Lucy Gray sing the hanging tree song which was non-diegetic in the original films feels distracting. Even worse having Lucy name the root she finds a Katniss was absolutely eye roll and groan inducing. Finally, some of the editing felt amateurish, there were some very abrupt cuts and some continuity issues that ended up being distracting.

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Saltburn

WOW. I had incredibly high expectations for this film going in and this is overall probably my second most anticipated film of the year, only second to Across the spider verse. I thought each trailer for this film was captivating and incredible, showing off the beautiful cinematography without giving away the plot and keeping mysteries hidden. Despite my high excitement and anticipation this film exceeded my already high expectations.

To start off with this film is simply gorgeous. The aspect ratio of this film is 1.33:1 which the director herself claims is to give an intruding sense to the film, make the audience feel like they are peeping in and only catching some of what is happening, it is genius. The saturation is great making all the colours really pop as shown in the images I've used the pinks and reds are visually striking. There are multiple reflection shots including the dinning table and also the river, these shots are the most obviously beautiful but there are gorgeous shots constantly, even simple close ups have such memorable lighting, the film having multiple scenes in clubs and parties allowing for intense blue, red and green lighting.

The plot and twists will be the most admired part of this film for sure. At first it seems like a simple story of an unlikely friendship between Felix and Oliver, a popular boy and a nerd at university together, they learn each others secrets and grow closer through their time at university. Oliver reveals his parents trouble with addiction and his desire to never return home leading to him going to Saltburn with Felix. Tensions rise in Saltburn as Oliver has sex with Felix's sister and has a rivalry with Farley. When watching the trailers I predicted the twist would be that the residents of Saltburn were some sort of cult Oliver had been dragged into, something reminiscent of Get Out... Oh was I wrong. The first twist reveals Oliver had lied about his entire family life, he has a stable wealthy family that loves him and multiple siblings, he was never an abused only child. Oliver pleads with Felix telling him he wanted to seem interesting and put on a performance for him, this twist makes Oliver seem very unlikeable and manipulative, making the audience question his decisions throughout the film. Before this reveal the film was doing an excellent job as illustrating the evolution of his character, changing from a shy nerd into someone bold and manipulative, having sex with both Farley and Felix's sister, he becomes more confident in himself. Then each member of the family begins to die, Felix seemingly dies of alcohol poisoning or an overdose, Venetia commits suicide, the father then dies of old age years after as the mother reconnects with Oliver after all that time. We then reach the REAL twist, Oliver unplugs the mother's life support and its revealed he caused every death, he forged an email so Farley would get kicked out and tricked everyone the entire film, Oliver acts as a perfect wolf with sheep's clothing and Barry Keoghan provides an excellent performance that portrays his hatred yet deep disturbing love for Felix and the family.

All the performances are great, especially Barry Keoghan himself and Rosemond Pike. The side cast of this film is stacked having Reese Shearsmith, Carey Mulligan, Richard E Grant and even Aemon's actor from House of the Dragon, a very talented main and side cast.

The one major problem I can see people having with this film is the very overtly sexual aspects. There are multiple masturbation scenes, including one of Oliver stripping down and masturbating over Felix's grave, these scenes are long and don't hide anything. They are very disturbing and weird but fit with the character and portray him as a psychotic freak, I think these scenes work because they aren't glorified. A good direct comparison for me is Call me By your Name's peach scene and Saltburn's bath scene. In Call me by your name Chalamet's character has sex with a peach and the audience is show most of it, then his love interest comes in, grabs the peach and begins sucking it, this scene is weird and disgusting and feels out of place in a film so focused on romance. Comparatively, Saltburn has Felix masturbate in the bath then leave, Oliver then begins sucking the left over water up. Despite these scenes seeming similar Saltburn works as it presents how obsessive and strange Oliver is, foreshadowing and building towards the reveal of his psychotic actions. The framing of this scene also presents it as a terrible act, having intense close ups and suspenseful music.

Saltburn is sinister, surreal, sexual and sensational.

[hectormcfilm]

ATTACK ON TITAN RANKINGS

Despite only recently writing a 5000 word analysis of all 4 seasons of this exceptional TV show I’m not done talking about it. Since I have fully reviewed the show and given my opinions on its highs and lows I now want to take some time to deeper analyse the openings and the music.

I mentioned the music briefly in my main review, claiming I didn’t think season 4’s music was as good as the first 3 seasons mainly because Sawano’s soundtrack is just unrivalled in the anime industry. Attack on Titan easily has the best music in anime history, having in my opinion the third greatest soundtrack in Television, only just behind Game of Thrones and Succession. Attack on Titan’s music manages to combine tracks of pure unbridled excitement and hype, songs made for intense and action and thrills with unbelievably emotional and well written lyricism spanning three different languages. The best pieces of music throughout the show for me are: YouSeeBigGirl T:T, Apple Seed, Before lights out, Ashes on the Fire, Barricades, Cost of Freedom, Vogel im Kafig, Beast Titan, Zero Eclipse and so many more. I listen to this soundtrack non-stop.

7. Jiyuu no Tsubasa

The second of opening of the show is the only opening I dislike, everything else even if it is low down on my rankings is of a high standard and has a lot of great qualities. This opening I just find very dull and repetitive, it doesn’t capture the same excitement of the first opening but also doesn’t reach the beauty of some of the later ones. The lyrics are all pretty standard, the chorus is triumphant but doesn’t compare to any of the others for the levels of hype. Visually this one has the repetitive style of an image fading over another, most the images not really meaning anything, it also uses a lot of CGI which I’m really not a fan of. This opening just isn’t as vibrant or exciting as the others and is overall forgettable, reflecting how this section of the story is also the most forgettable.

6. The Rumbling

This opening has become very popular in the fandom but I don’t completely understand the hype, I think it is a pretty good opening but I have some problems. To start with I simply prefer the WIT art style and think it works better for openings, secondly I am not a big fan of heavy metal music so this song is very much no my style, I also don’t think the part of the song used is the best part. Despite saying that I enjoy the visuals a lot, especially the shots of each Titan shifter very desaturated, cutting between them and their titan. I also love the shot of Ymir floating and flashing as the tree flickers in the background. Overall it fits with the tone of the ending arc very well.

5. Red Swan

This is where I think all the opening become amazing, this one is easily the most emotional opening. I really like the song and appreciate it uniqueness to the others, being more slow and profound compared to the usual hype. Visually I like seeing the characters reflecting on their younger years and especially adore the shot of young Eren bashing into his older self. However, I simply don’t think this opening has as much to offer as the ones above it since it doesn’t create the same instantly recognisability and passion.

4. Shinzo Wo Sasageyo

This is easily the opening which creates the most mystery, showing the Titan’s face within the wall and having the sequence of the best Titan running with multiple animals and a dinosaur, completely confusing  the audience as it its origin. Similarly, it gives lots of subtle hints towards certain twists like Reiner and Bertolt not being part of the triumphant team line up. This opening also has the most impressive piece of action, having the scouts charging Titans on horses, then seeing Mikasa and Eren lunge in the air, Mikasa grabbing Eren spinning him and throwing him as he transforms, its unbelievably impressive and gorgeously animated.

3. Shoukei to shikabane no michi

This is definitely the most underrated and underappreciated opening, I have lots of bias towards it as it takes place during the Return to Shiganshina, my favourite arc but even without bias think its exceptional. The use of colour in this opening is striking, the sky and borders have an intense green and blue colour palette, with some rainbow effects as well making the opening feel like a painting. This also has lots of hints towards the reveals later in the season and I love the reverse technique used in the end, taking the audience back to the basement. This is also my most listened to song out of any Attack on Titan opening, I love the raw excitement it creates.

2. My War

When this opening first released I wasn’t a big fan, I didn’t like how different and almost unrelated it seemed however over the past two years my appreciation for this opening has grown exponentially and this and no.1 are very interchangeable for me I adore them both. This opening is easily the most atmospheric and mysterious, giving the least away and not even showing any characters faces. The completely white background and lack of details add a disorientating and confusing effect reflecting the horror and confusion of war. The contrast between the vibrant multi-coloured explosions almost appearing like fireworks to the blank backgrounds is visually striking. The music is also so haunting, sounding like a children’s nursery rhyme at first but combined with some electronic elements, screaming and rock, creating an idea of destroyed innocence, it is brilliant. Finally the ending shot of Eren’s titan looking like a beautiful sculpture is just perfect. Similarly, the way every human and living creature is a lifeless statue who’s animation style contrast the background creates an effectively disturbing atmosphere.

1. Guren no yimiya

Despite this being the first opening it stays the best, there is definitely some nostalgia and bias in this decision but the first opening is just undeniably amazing, turning into one of the most iconic and beloved openings of all time. The music is perfectly exciting, the visuals introducing every aspect of the worldbuilding, illustrating how terrifying and imposing the titans are as well as how impressive the ODM gear is. This also has the best climax of any opening building up the Eren killing a titan, creating a mini narrative within an opening which is very impressive. I just love this opening pure and simple.

#Youtube

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The French Dispatch

This is the final film in my Wes Anderson binge for now, I still have three of his films to watch: Bottle Rocket, Moonrise Kingdom and Asteroid city. I enjoy that two of the films left are his debut and latest film and will definitely try watch them back to back when I can find either on anything. For now, The French Dispatch I am very mixed on, it is part of the same era and conversation as Asteroid City where it is actively debated if this film is too Wes Anderson for its own good and I see this arguement.

To start out with, for the most part I really enjoy the style of this film, similar to his recent short films certain moments show that the backgrounds are obviously sets which I love and obviously the overall use of colour and centre framing is as stellar as usual. The amazing colour work lends to one of my criticisms of the film however and that is the overuse of black and white, I definitely enjoyed it in the first of the three stories however in the second it felt inconsistent and almost at random and in the third it felt more stylistic without and real reason to be in black and white. Style and vibe for the sake of it. Some of the stylistic elements that really worked for me in this were: the animated section in an old 2d style was so much fun, I find Wes works best in animation truthfully, the technique of having people in vehicles without them actually driving, lovingly parodying old school Hollywood and theatre techniques, this is best exemplified with the scene of Timothe Chalamet on the motorbike which uses a wind machine and beautiful changing colours to crate such a neat atmosphere.

Out of the three different narratives in this film I definitely enjoyed Benicio Del Toro's and Chalamet's narrative way more then Jeffry Wrights, which I found quite silly and not as engaging as it lacked some of the personal more introspective aspects of the first two. The first two narratives are very engaging with some odd bits like Chalamet's relationship with Frances McDormand where I found the age gap very strange, similar to Rushmore. I also wasn't a huge fan of some of the connecting piece of narrative like the overall Bill Murray plotline or the cut aways to the art exhibit during the first narrative, I preferred just the short films themselves.

Overall I surprisingly don't have much to say about this film, I found it mostly entertaining but maybe too self-indulgent with a scattershot narrative. I may have watched too much Wes Anderson at once as seeing the same actors as the last three features films such as: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Adrian Brody made me groan.

HOWEVER. Now I am finished with my Wes binge I am starting a new binge- in lead up to the release of The Boy and The Heron on boxing day I am going to watch every Ghibli film.

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Scene recreation initial ideas

For film production workflow our final task of the Trimester and the year is to film a scene recreation, we have free reign to choose any scene from a film we want which gives a huge expanse of options. My group met up together to discuss initial ideas. There were lots of ideas thrown around including: The Lighthouse, La Haine, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Before Sunrise, Shaun of the Dead, The Social Network.

Each one of these options have there pros and cons and I want to quickly discuss what could work well and not be successful in each.

Perks Of Being a Wallflower: Most people in my group really enjoy this film and it is one that on the surface shouldn't be difficult, the costumes and locations are all very achievable as they are regular teenagers, the age of the characters also helps when we are finding actors as we know actors our age. However, the most impressive scenes in this film are the scene in the car, which we are completely unable to do. Firstly, we don't know how to rig camera to a car and we just aren't allowed in first year to film in cars as it is too unsafe.

The Lighthouse: The lighthouse ahs a few advantages straight away, the black and white and aspect ratio allow us to instantly create the feel of the film. The issues with this idea however is casting and location. We would definitely, have to put out a casting call to find someone with the age and demeaner of Willam Defoe which could be a struggle. Another issue is finding a lighthouse that would let us film and give us permission fi we chose a scene taking place outside.

Shaun of The Dead: My group definitely have a strong affinity towards Edgar Wright as a lot of film students my age were first inspired by his films. We were thinking of doing the montage of the escape plan or the one shot. Our main issues are we have already done 2 one shots as a group and we may want to experiment with something else and the montage has multiple moments in cars and is overall so fast paced and editing focused it would put a lot of weight on the editor.

Before Sunrise: This is another film that on the surface wouldn't be too difficult as the scene chosen would be set inside a record shop and there are plenty around in Edinburgh meaning hopefully one would allow us to film there. My only issue with the scene is the lack of camera movement, it is mainly a static frame relying on the acting. I haven't personally seen the film so couldn't help picking out a different scene.

The Social Network: This is another film which when it comes to costumes and locations shouldn't be too difficult in theory. Similarly the characters are at university for a lot of the film meaning actors our age would be perfect and easy to find. The main issue with this feature is how dialogue heavy it is, especially when the judgement on dialogue and sound won't be harsh or the main focus.

La Haine: This is a film not everyone in the group has seen but those who have are very passionate about. I think the costumes and location works pretty perfect, it is very urban and takes place in a huge city. Similar to the Lighthouse using Black and White allows for an instant assist for creating the same feel. The only issue is the use of guans, needing to make sure we don't choose a scene where one is shot and we would need to check if we are allowed to just speak English for the dialogue.

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Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

This is my second introduction into Chinese cinema with another classic martial arts film this time by Ang Lee. I will start by clarifying I think this film is great but definitely isn't on the level of Hero.

I was mixed on the first act of this film, I thought it had some great character work and strong dynamics especially between the two female leads. The mystery of who stole the green destiny was very obvious but I never felt like the film was trying to trick you or ever assumed you didn't know as Michelle Yeoh's character works it out so quickly. I did find this opening act quite slow paced and certain scenes especially with the master of the house did feel a bit dragged out and uninteresting. However, I found it really picked up in the second and thirds acts. I absolutely loved the flashbacks of Jen and dark cloud, presenting a poignant love story between a young woman wanting to prove herself and escape her destiny and a wild warrior who is truly just a boy chasing the stars. Both characters want to chase their dreams and escape, they form a bond over time turning from a rivalry where Jen doesn't trust dark cloud to a deep connection. The final scene before Jen leaves is emotional and seeing her deny him when he returns is heart-breaking.

After the flashback, watching her go on a rampage with the green destiny , fighting anyone who will go near her was awesome. Overall, the action is definitely the best part of this feature. Similar to Hero they have the abilities to float and have extreme speed and balance, whilst I would like more of an explanation there is a bigger focus on training and martial arts itself here so it didn't bother me as much, despite certain scenes obviously being on wires. Besides that the choreography is perfect, it is fast paced and visceral, you see both fighters always thinking of their next move and counterattacking constantly makes fights feel dynamic and unscripted. There is a great reliance on wide shots so the audience can truly experience the excellent choreography. Comparing these action scenes to most fight scenes in western cinema where there is an overreliance on close ups and quick edits makes this feel even more impressive. It also gives me a deeper appreciation for Everything Everywhere all at once where Michelle Yeoh is able to use her incredible martial arts training once again.

I thought the final act was great but the villain of the Jade Fox was quite weak, she didn't have much of a motivation and besides her scenes with Jen I found her quite dull. To add on, there are some very nice landscape and establishing shots throughout.